*IMPORTANT PLEASE READ*
Posted by DjPaulT on July 4th, 2017
Hi guys,
As you know my hosting service took BTG down for most of the weekend due to heavy traffic and bandwidth usage. I am happy to let you know the site is now back up and should be operating as normal. The problem was too many files being downloaded at one time causing an overload on my site and others on the server. I urge folks to not use download managers to try and grab several files at once, this can cause high bandwidth usage. I would appreciate if you pace yourselves and only download a couple of files per day.
In addition I had to remove about 700 posts from the site from 2010 to 2013 just because the site’s foot print is becoming very large. I may re-upload some of these at later dates with new transfers. There are also new security features that are running in the background that should help with routing traffic.
If bandwidth problems persists I may have to take further action by limiting each post to being active for thirty days. The other alternative is to purchase my own dedicated server which would require a lot of work and hefty donations from you guys. I don’t like having to do any of this but if that is what it takes to keep BTG open I will.
Thank you for your cooperation.
-Paul
July 4th, 2017 at 9:52 am
Hi,
Glad you’re up and running again already! Wondering, how about limiting the (larger) flac downloads to 30 days, but leaving the (smaller) mp3s available for longer…. best of both worlds?
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Bellenger1981 Reply:
July 4th, 2017 at 5:42 pm
On the contrary … I know that I am in the minority here, but how about just posting 24-bit FLAC files (instead of the other options of FLAC and MP3)? If people want lesser quality (and space) they can always convert to the format and quality that they prefer.
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July 4th, 2017 at 12:21 pm
I’m so glad you are back!! Happy 4th of July to you too.
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July 4th, 2017 at 1:06 pm
Oh man, I’m really sorry Paul, I think I may have been the culprit here… 🙁 I was getting ready for a party on Saturday and the more I looked the more I found great posts that I’d missed from the last six months.
I remember your hosting problems a year or so ago, so always respect your request to not download multiple files simultaneously, but I didn’t realise that grabbing them one after the other would also cause you an issue.
I’ll be sure to go easy from now on, and am again really sorry to you and other BTGers.
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Jiytee Reply:
July 4th, 2017 at 2:19 pm
Naughty boy ;o)
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July 4th, 2017 at 2:22 pm
Whatever you need to do Paul is fine with me…..
Have you considered storing the flac files elsewhere, rather than your own space?
Mega or similar??
OR even on muiltiup…
Glad to see your back by the way..
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Graham Reply:
July 4th, 2017 at 3:42 pm
That’s exactly my opinion. It would prevent the traffic issue uploading the files on a reliable one-click-hoster such as mega, share-online or uploaded and simply release the links here on this page.
Nevertheless thanks for your work, Paul!
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ex15 Reply:
July 4th, 2017 at 5:23 pm
Sounds good to me, Paul! 🙂
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Jermajesty Reply:
July 5th, 2017 at 4:58 am
ISTR Paul did use those sort of hosts a long time ago, but I think the risk of the host suddenly going down or links becoming broken made switching to a dedicated server a better choice, affording him total control.
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July 4th, 2017 at 3:40 pm
Welcome back! Glad you found the solution so quickly, I thought for sure we’d be without you for at least a week or two.
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July 4th, 2017 at 4:12 pm
If we need to chip in because you have to purchase yourself a dedicated server, I am happy to donate.
Who’s with me?
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July 4th, 2017 at 5:07 pm
Did the recent Bee Gees posts get lost in the chaos?
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DjPaulT Reply:
July 5th, 2017 at 7:49 am
Yes David I have removed them from the site. The links were also pretty old and had been alive since 2012. I may do new transfers and re-upload them at a later date.
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July 4th, 2017 at 8:25 pm
DJ Paul I am glad I signed up for the emails. I have been so busy I have only downloaded one or two singles since I got my computer out of storage in December, and I keep saying to myself ” self…I will come and grab a bunch of those great singles when I get the time.”
Since I know a lot of downloads will cause you (us) to get in trouble I will limit myself to just one or two a day. If I remember to do it that way I can get the ones I really want over time. I should know better than to procrastinate. Every time I procrastinate about great downloads, people retire from running their sites and close them down, and then I’m bummed because I kept saying “I’ll get those great downloads when I have some time.” Life is too complicated, it seems like managing time just gets harder and harder. In the past (2012-15) I have waited until a Friday night and downloaded maybe 4 or 5 on up of the 24-bit songs in one night, then I didn’t think it mattered because I only did it once or twice a month, and then sometimes when the email caught my eye I would grab the song that day, but lately I have been super get-to-it-later about things.
I’m glad you let us know before throwing up your hands in disgust and walking away. I think the people that like this site are respectful enough if you just remind us once in a while we/they will be careful to limit our consumption to preserve this great place. Plus new people probably come here all the time, and we should let them know if we haven’t seen a person here before or they say they are new, that download managers put the site over the bandwidth limit and get the site closed. I am glad I didn’t see this site closed or I might have had an anxiety attack. It would have been a sad day that’s for sure. All the sites I am fond of eventually close it seems like.
I used to have a job where I had people I had to supervise that I trained and managed. I used to say, “if people are adults, I shouldn’t have to repeat policies and rules to them over and over.” and a wise experienced person explained to me that people need to be reminded of what you expect out of them. Yes it seems disrespectful that people would require you to repeat your rules to them (especially when you are giving them something of yourself, time and creativity), but it’s just in people’s nature to test their boundaries and limits. If they see that something remains important to you over time and you repeat it, people will respect that too, because you haven’t dropped it and just forgotten about it, or steamed silently while the problem continued unspoken. Because you took the time to explain why download managers and numerous downloads in one month put you over an existing bandwidth limit, people are invested in being part of the solution because we know why you are asking us too.
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July 4th, 2017 at 10:00 pm
Just glad you are back. I remember you used to have a password protection to access the downloads. I wonder if someone from another site was using direct links to your files. Or perhaps someone just discovered the site, went crazy and did not bother to read the rules. The 2010-2013 posts, weren’t most of those dead links?
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July 5th, 2017 at 5:21 am
I’m relieved as everyone that you’re back up and running. Cyberspace just wouldn’t be the same without you DjPaulT and your monumental Burning The Ground. Whatever it takes to help you maintain your site, I am most committed to that. What you’re doing here is beyond anything I know of anyone else doing. You are a sonic museum, an archive and a sanctuary for the world Paul. Don’t ever forget that.
You’re Awesome!!
Jeff
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July 5th, 2017 at 6:07 am
Dear DjPaulT,
Your efforts are greatly appreciated!
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July 5th, 2017 at 9:27 am
By any chance do you have Don Henly Boys Of Summer EP? That one is perfect for this summer! If you do please post!
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July 5th, 2017 at 10:30 am
Why don’t you make it registered members only? Would this not cut downloads down? We can’t lose this blog! Have a great day M8 🙂
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July 5th, 2017 at 2:49 pm
Just wanted to confirm I have read the latest post. I went and looked and saw that Eddy Grant’s “Electric Avenue” 12″ was gone (That was such an exciting entry for me to see on here), along with some other big hits from the 80’s…. and my beloved Depeche Mode has taken a hit too…. I do hope this can all get worked out as I have just discovered this website until recently and was just starting to explore what was on here…. I plan to participate more, once my life gets settled, things have just been chaotic on my end. Keep up the good work Paul, I will check back in again soon
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July 5th, 2017 at 5:00 pm
Hi Paul. I’m glad you were able to get things worked out. Do you have a list of what you took down? I’m curious if it’s anything I was looking for.
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July 5th, 2017 at 5:40 pm
Personally, I think that 24-bit FLAC versions are not necessary and only take away a lot of hosting space, after all we are talking about vinyl transfers and not studio masters. 16-bit FLAC is more than enough, and you can also use it to make your own CDs without any conversion.
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July 5th, 2017 at 9:30 pm
Hi Paul. First, I (and I presume a vast majority of others) are here to help. With that, here are a few ideas from someone who is a long time techie as well as has a lot of business knowledge:
1)It’s possible your overage this weekend was due (mostly or partially) from some newbies that found your site. That’s actually good news as you have new followers, but your hosting provider has a problem with that. There’s no crystal ball for you to see when 5 or 50 people are going to find your site and start downloading dozens of items.
2)As for the solution, you could see what the next Tier is at your current hosting provider. Obviously if it’s 10x the price, it’s probably not worth it. Other ideas would be: what about using a site like SendSpace ( https://www.sendspace.com/premium_upgrade.html ) for the first 10 days of a new post, and then use your regular hosting provider when a post becomes older. Another option as you said would be to totally switch hosting providers.
A 4th idea would be to consider getting rid of MP3 and/or 24bit Flac…I’ve been visiting for many years and have donated to your site, but I have always downloaded 16 bit FLAC. I can turn them into MP3s in seconds. However, you know your download stats so I think #4 is a real last resort.
A 5th idea could be owning a sister site…the exact same tier/plan that you have now, but you only use it for downloads. Therefore, your price is now 2x to run “the site” but you should now be separating out downloads vs. other normal web-visiting traffic. Heck, you could host your MP3s on 1 site and FLACs on another.
If you are willing so share some of your thoughts or price comparisons you are thinking of, I think we could at least offer some input. I don’t think we should be voting on what you do…but we may have some other ideas if are willing to lay out all the options you would consider.
Have a great week! -Fred
p.s. I also feel very strongly that you should not delete older stuff. I really enjoy seeing your archive grow and every blue moon I notice something on your site that I forgot to download.
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July 5th, 2017 at 11:22 pm
I agree with helping out however I can. I’m noticing a lot of great stuff was deleted. I would love to see those deleted posts back up and figure out the best way to help. You have our support Paul.
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July 6th, 2017 at 3:21 am
AWS do the most scalable solutions that I have seen and all made bespoke from a good control panel.
To keep things simple I’d apply a monthly bandwidth limit – once it’s gone, then it is gone!
At least the website won’t fall over and you don’t need to remove posts.
Maybe this is a good reminder to society that we shouldn’t always expect anything and everything with immediacy and with no limits.
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July 6th, 2017 at 9:40 am
I had the same issue on my BLOG as well. Lack of bandwidth
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July 6th, 2017 at 2:47 pm
It looks like the deleted posts are coming back! So happy to see it. Its very appreciated Paul.
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July 6th, 2017 at 11:57 pm
I’m sad to see the older posts deleted, as that’s where I started and was working my way forward, since those are (as in this case) the most likely links to go dead at some point. I’d really love it if at some point those were put back into circulation. I was downloading, on average, one link a week. The last one I did before the crash was either a Donna Summer or Michael Damian 12″. Please keep me/us posted when you may or may not put those back up
Thanks,
Nino
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July 9th, 2017 at 1:03 am
I knew something was up! I didn’t think,though,it was bandwidth issues….I was thinking something more sinister was afoot.
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